Creamy Carbonara: Hold the Cream

As you probably know by now my husband and I lived in Park Slope, Brooklyn during our engagement and a couple years into our marriage. We loved it. We loved it so much that when I was forced to move on up to the Upper West Side to a deluxe apartment in the sky (not deluxe, but it had a killer view!), I was bummed. Really bummed. Perhaps the thing that bummed me out most, aside from leaving all of our friends, was leaving Franny's, an incredible pizza and wine bar which started the upscale pizza trend now taking over Manhattan. About 5 years ago, Andrew Feinberg and his wife, Franny Stephens, created a pizza and wine bar around local, organic ingredients and meticulously made foods. It's truly Almost Slowfood because chef Feinberg cures his own meats and sardines and makes a pizza from scratch like none other.

What's more, Feinberg's such a perfectionist that if he isn't thrilled with a dish, he'll take it off the menu no matter how much two of his regulars plead its pardon. At least that's what the apologetic waiter explained to us all those years ago as we pleaded with him to put Bucatini alla Carbonara back on the menu. If you haven't had carbonara at Franny's and chances are you haven't because it was only on the menu for like a month, then you missed out. Unlike most recipes that call for cream and butter and all sorts of other things to make it creamy, Franny's carbonara was real and true like a Hemingway novel using only eggs, parmesan cheese, guanciale and pasta water.

At the time, I had no idea that's what Feinberg was up to, going back to basics in a hugely exciting way. But then, a couple years back, (after yet another conversation with friends about how friggin good that carbonara was and why oh why couldn't we have some!?!?) I found myself thumbing through Mario Batali's Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home, and I hit pay dirt. There it was, like a sign from the pasta gods, a recipe for Spaghetti alla Carbonara and it looked easy!

The very next night my husband and I made it and to our delight, it was everything we'd hoped for: al dente pasta lightly coated with a thickened sauce of cheese and egg and accented with bacon. It became a staple in our diets, a once a week meal due to its extreme ease and tastiness. Then something happened, a baby perhaps? and I kinda forgot about it. That is, until this weekend. We're headed out of town for a week and a half so I was doing my best to make dinner without buying anything. All I had was some farmer's market bacon, CSA eggs and a thing of fresh grated parmesan. That's all I needed!

My daughter went wild for it as she does for anything with noodles, but this was especially comforting to her as it was a gentle mix of her favorite ingredients and ours too. After a long recess, carbonara is back on my plate and it should make it onto yours too. Enjoy!

Spaghetti alla Carbonara
(Made from stuff you probably have on hand, it's an easy and delicious afterthought leaving you to wonder why you try so hard in the kitchen every other night of the week! -
Adapted from Mario Batali's Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home)

What You'll Need:

One (4 serving) box of spaghetti or bucatini (if you can find it)
5-6 strips of good bacon (or a big hunk of guanciale or pancetta) cut into bite-sized chunks
4 large eggs separated
About a cup of parmesan cheese
A splash of pasta water

Over a high heat, boil a big vat of salted water. Cook the spaghetti until it's al dente. About 8-10 minutes. Reserve a cup or so of pasta water and set aside.

Over a medium-high heat, cook the bacon in a frying pan until it's gently crisped. Pour out the fat while preserving the bacon and return the pan to the heat. Add the cooked spaghetti to the pan with a splash of pasta water and about three quarters of the parmesan. Stir vigorously and turn off the heat. Still stirring, add the egg whites and mix well and fast so as to avoid scrambling. The heat will cook the whites and thicken the sauce.

To serve, quickly plate the pasta in four bowls and place an egg yolk on top of each portion. Batali thinks it's a nice way to present the dish to guests and I agree. However, if you are skittish about such things, go ahead and add the yolks when you add the whites. It's will be just as tasty!

Approximate Dinner Cost
• Groceries - $7.00
• Leftovers – Expect 4 servings at $1.75 a serving.

Hale to the Kale

Willie Mae cooked for my great-grandmother, then my grandmother and, even for a short time, my mother. She was a large woman with a high-pitched booming voice and an old fashioned Southern twang. My mother grew up with her as did my brothers and me. While we loved everything about Willie Mae, we especially loved her cooking. She cooked in the old Southern tradition of stewing and slow-cooking nearly everything from baked beans to baby back ribs. Even her apple pie was more of a heavenly applesauce spread in between two layers of flaky pie crust. The only thing that didn't really work were her chocolate chip cookies since they were also cooked forever and therefore hard as rocks.

The other day, as I was trying to figure out what to do with a big bunch of kale from my CSA, Willie Mae sprang to my mind and I wondered why she'd never made kale for us. Kale is after all a big hearty Southern green used in all kinds of braises and stews. Plus, kale is full of vitamins A, K and C and it's also an amazing source of manganese, calcium and fiber.

However, if Willie Mae ever did cook kale, I imagine she prepared it the same way she did her slow-cooked green beans, which she simmered all day in a hunk of bacon. I decided to follow her lead with a couple slices of bacon, a little chicken stock and even some cannellini beans for an Italian flare. To save our hearts and my sanity, I poured out the rendered bacon fat and only simmered it for 15-20 minutes. The results have permanently turned my husband and I from wishy-washy on the kale front to actively buying it every time we see it at the market. It's that good and so easy to prepare. Baby girl loves it too, picking out the beans first, then the bacon and finally the kale. It's a great dish for picky veggie-eaters since it's soft and tastes mildly of bacon. What's not to love?

Simmered Kale with Bacon and White Beans

(If you're tired, a large bowl of this with some crusty bread would make a fine meal.)

What You'll Need:
2-3 strips of bacon cut into bite-sized pieces (go for the pasture-fed pork if you can - I got mine from my local market, but I also recommend Niman Ranch bacon)
1 large bunch of kale chopped
1-2 cups chicken stock
2 15 oz. cans of cannellini beans rinsed

Place a large pot over a medium-high heat and cook the bacon until much of the fat is rendered, but before it gets crispy. Pour off the fat and add the kale. Toss with tongs until the kale is wilted. Add the chicken stock and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. Then add the beans, turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

*This can be made with just about any leafy green. This past week I used a mixture of dandelion and swiss chard. And, a good friend used turnip greens in his version and chicken sausage - the possibilities are endless.

*Sorry there is no picture this week because I was super silly and deleted it!! I have kale in the fridge so stay tuned for an update to this post with a picture of the real delicious deal.

* One more thing, my title isn't a mistake. I meant it as hale as in hale and hearty kale, but used it like hail as in hail to the king. My husband insisted I post an explanation as he's a crazy meanings obsessed lawyer.

Approximate Dinner Cost
• Groceries - $7.00
• Leftovers – Expect 7-8 side servings and about 4 meal servings.

Much Ado About Chutney

Just a quick one here, but I've been receiving numerous questions about what to do with the chutney left over from Monday's virtual dinner party. I too asked myself the same question since the paneer cheese ran out way before the chutney did. Here are a couple ideas for what to do with any leftover Apricot-Orange Chutney. To read the original post, click here: A Potluck of Spice & Everything Nice.


Option 1: Tuesday night rolled around and we still had a good two cups of chutney in the fridge. I also had a head of bok choy, about a cup of snow peas, a garlic scape and a bunch of scallions all from our CSA. My husband suggested a stir fry, but I took it one step further and here's how: Place a large frying pan over a high heat and add a quarter cup of chutney and a splash of chicken stock. Bring it to a boil and add the bok choy, chopped, and the snow peas. Saute for about 3 minutes and then add the garlic scapes and scallions, all chopped, to the pan. Cook for just a couple more minutes and serve over brown rice. It was amazing!

Option 2: On wednesday night, I turned on the oven to 400, salt and peppered two pork chops, smothered them in chutney and popped them in the oven for about 15 minutes. The result was caramelized and juicy goodness.

Option 3: Finally, for a snack yesterday, I took some triscuit-type organic crackers, topped them with ricotta cheese and a dab of chutney. Such easy perfection.

There you go, three totally different things to do with all that chutney. Enjoy!

Gnocchi, Gah-nocky

"What's gah-nocky?" Yes, that's what I said out loud at a restaurant in Manhattan while my three friends of Italian descent snickered at and teased me. It's OK. They're my girls and I can't tell you how many times I've snickered at and teased them. That's what we do and when we go overboard, we fight. I don't normally fight with friends, but there's something about living with a group of girls for four years in college that brings out the sister in you even if you never had any and I never had any. I'm the girl in a family of boys.

The gah-nocky incident occurred twelve years ago when I was just a semi-worldy mafia obsessed college freshman. And when I say mafia obsessed, I mean I dragged my high school best friend to Sicily in search of the real godfather. Yeah, I had some kind of influence then, right? Wish I could be so inspiring nowadays. Sure, now I realize the mafia isn't cool, but I'll watch The Godfather any day...

You might recall this past Friday I picked up thyme and sage at the farmer's market and I sent out an SOS to you all looking for ideas on what to do with it. Of course, one of my college ladies came through and suggested I try this amazing Mark Bittman recipe of brown butter, sage and bread crumbs to go over pasta. Little did she know I had also picked up a package of homemade ricotta gnocchi so I decided to try it out. Yummy! Seriously wonderful. Baby girl was asleep when the husband and I devoured the entire thing, brown butter, crispy sage, bread crumbs and all. Thanks, S!

After dinner, my husband and I were chatting about how this little package of gnocchi was so tasty (and pricey), but I couldn't very well write about someone else's gnocchi. I needed to make it myself. So, the next day I invested in a food mill (I'm planning on making jam this summer too!), thumbed through Mario Batali's Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home and got the general idea for making gnocchi. Then, like I do most weekend afternoons, I sent baby girl and my husband off to the playground while I got down to bidness. Everything was going smoothly until I decided to not peel the potatoes. I thought the ricer would take care of it. Nope. It took forever and majorly aggravated my carpal tunnel. Worst of all, the potatoes turned into a gummy mess from my continuous spinning of the mill and attempts to force the potato through the skin-bit riddled holes. By the time my husband and baby girl got home, I was hot, sweaty and angry.

So, I had to start over and I must pat myself on the back. They turned out lovely. I made a few additions to Mr. Bittman's brown butter sauce including tomatoes and pea shoots, which I settled on since sweet peas aren't in season yet. And, even though the bread crumbs were amazing, I nixed them because my husband and I wanted to get a true feeling for the gnocchi's texture: they were smooth, light and just a little chewy. What's more, I made a huge batch and was able to freeze most of the dough for hectic nights.

Whole Wheat & Potato Gnocchi Studded with Chives and Sauced With Browned Butter, Sage, Tomatoes & Pea Shoots
(Are my titles too long? Perhaps, but I feel I need to include every last bit to give you the idea. This recipe was inspired by a combination of Mario Batali's basic gnocchi recipe and my momnesiac memory so it's a true team effort.)

Steam three pounds of russet potatoes until a knife or fork goes in and comes out easily. Then, peel the potatoes and run them through a ricer, food mill or something that has spaghetti sized holes. Dump the riced potatoes in a large bowl and add about 2 cups of whole wheat flour, 2 eggs, a teaspoon of salt and lots of fresh chopped chive. I also added their purple flowers and the effect was lovely green and purple studded gnocchi. Mix together with a wooden spoon, spatula or your hands until thoroughly combined. Then turn out the dough onto a floured surface.


The dough is a bit sticky so keep a little bowl of flour on hand. Roll out pieces of the dough into thin snakes - about .5 to .75 inches thick. Then take a knife and cut inch long pieces off the snake. Take a fork and roll the gnocchi on it to make little indentations. My husband wondered why this is necessary and I told him it's to hold onto the yummy sauce. 'Nough said.

Once the gnocchi is fork-tined, it's ready to cook. Now, unless you're cooking for twenty people, you'll have loads of gnocchi ready to freeze. Reserve the amount you need for dinner and then place the rest in rows on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and freeze them for about 20 minutes. Once they're frozen through put the gnocchi in a plastic freezer bag and then into the freezer for another time.


Bring a pot of water to a boil and toss in the gnocchi, wait for the water to come back to a strong boil and cook it for one minute. Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat and throw in a big old pat of butter. Watch it carefully. Immediately, when the butter turns a dark, nutty brown (not black!), toss in a couple handfuls of chopped cherry tomatoes, lots of sage and sage flowers if you have them. With a slotted spoon, transfer the gnocchi to the pan and saute them in the tomato and sage mixture. Add in some fresh pea shoots and toss just a little. Add a pinch of salt and serve. Ain't it pretty?

Approximate Dinner Cost
• W/Wine - $24.00
• W/o Wine - $12.00
• Leftovers – OMG, there are at least 10 more servings in the freezer, which comes to $.92 per meal. Talk about recession gourmet!

CSA Expansion

In two weeks my CSA starts its Tuesday deliveries and I just found out I can also special order meats, cheeses, milk, jams, breads, pickles etc from other farms in the area. Gosh, CSAs have come a long way from the early days when a single box of veggies was amazing.

Also, I just got word that I can expect to fill 4 shopping bags with veggies and fruits each week. Aye yai yai. I'm going to need some serious recipe advice and I'm definitely going to get into canning this year. Get ready for pickle and jam recipes! What great Christmas and Hannukah gifts they'll make!

Farmers' Market Finds - May 29th

Today is my daughter's 18 month birthday and we didn't get off to a good start. It was rainy and dreary outside, but baby girl was itching to go around 8am. Of course, she wanted to walk rather than ride in her stroller, which might have been a possibility except that it was pouring outside. I was also bummed thinking the market might be rained out and all the tasty things I wanted to find wouldn't be there. Thankfully, just as I had wrangled baby girl into the stroller and pulled the rain cover over her, the rain stopped and we made our merry way to the market where, as it turns out, the rain hadn't prevented my darling farmers from setting up their stands.

This time of year is the best in my opinion because winter is truly behind us - a cold day means 60 not 30 degrees - and every week at the market is a new discovery. This week, the herbs were out in full force, all flowery and green. Baby girl immediately grabbed a bunch of chives, she flashed our friends from Bradley Farm the cutest smile and scored us a free bunch. I also picked up some thyme and sage (pictured above) and I had to pin my own arms behind my back to avoid getting bunches of mint and peppermint and basil and on and on.

Also at the market were asparagus, strawberries, baby bok choy, hot house tomatoes, spinach and loads of lettuce. As you may have gathered from last week's post, I'm obsessed with my new salmon recipe. I have some creme fraiche in the fridge so there's tonight's meal, but what am I going to do with the big beautiful bunches of thyme and sage? Any suggestions?

I Got Nothin'

I usually post recipes today, but I just returned to NYC after a weekend of travel with my mom. The pickins were slim in the country as far as food and antiques go so I was uninspired and found nothing to feature. Tonight, I'm cooking a tasty meal for baby girl and my husband so stay tuned tomorrow for the the results... I'm thinking lamb and goat cheese inspired by a restaurant my parents and I use to frequent in Philly!

In the meantime, I came across this great article in the LA Times food section. It's by Russ Parsons, author of How to Read a French Fry and How to Pick a Peach: The Search for Flavor From Farm to Table. Anyhoo, check out this article on how to cook with all the amazing produce that's just starting the flood the market. A demain!

Formerly Know As...

Hi to everyone who use to read Alice Waters: Abridged! This is the same blog, but by a different name. I hope it smells as sweet. Thank you for reading!

I posted an explanation on AWA, but in a nutshell this blog is about more than just Alice Waters. While I love and adore the amazing things she's done for the slowfood movement - ie. CREATING IT! - I don't want to feel like I have to mention her every week or that my title and my writing aren't speaking to each other. So, I hope you enjoy Almost Slowfood...

Why CSAs Rock

So, I am happy to announce that I've just been accepted to the... West Harlem CSA! It was a brutal application process complete with letters of recommendation and a personal essay. Nah, just kidding, but I did nearly miss out entirely. Most devoted CSAers know to sign up in February when fresh fruits and veggies are a mere memory of summers past. Of course, this year, like last year, I only thought, hmm CSA, when asparagus popped up at the market a few weeks ago. I was wait-listed at two others until I found my future Alma CSA at Just Food's website.

What is a CSA, you might ask? It's basically a food coop where members buy a share in a farm's yearly harvest. Windflower farm, my CSA's farm, will be growing fruits and veggies and harvesting pasture-raised eggs this year and I will be getting my equal share. Here's a rundown of why I've joined and maybe you'll be inspired to find one in your neighborhood for this season, or, if you're too late, punch a reminder into your calendar for next year.

Reasons I Joined a CSA:

1. For fresh, local and usually organic fruits and vegetables grown just for me.
2. As if you need to hear it again, eating local and organic is good for the environment. When food travels thousands of miles, not only are natural resources being wasted, but added pollution is being pumped into the air all so we can have strawberries in January.
   
3. Eating local and organic is good for you. The farther produce travels the fewer nutrients it retains upon reaching your mouth.
4. Accountability - yeah, that's a big one for me. While you might be buying organic raspberries from Chile, who from the FDA is actually overseeing the farming? Who is protecting our interests as consumers? When you buy from local farms that are a short drive from you, you can go visit and see for yourself where the food is coming from and how it's being raised.
5. It's cheaper. Huh? Yes it is, by a lot. My weekly produce bill comes in at well over $50 a week if not $70. Provided this year's crop is a good one (and that's always the risk, you do as well as the farmer does), then I won't have to supplement my weekly CSA goody basket with outside produce. I will be spending $40 a week for fruits, veggies and a dozen eggs from June through November which means I'm cutting my shopping bill in half!

I'll still be going to the market every week to see if there's anything I can't live without and to pick up meat, milk, cheese and bread, so keep tuning in on Fridays for my Farmer's Market Finds column. And, starting on Tuesdays, I'll be filling you in on what I'm getting from my CSA and how much. Will one week be nothing but kale? I hope not, but if so, I'll give you the good and the not so good and the how to cook all this stuff anyway every Tuesday.

This is my first experience with a CSA. I've never been a get psyched kinda gal probably because I am still traumatized by my years of forced participation in an all girl's convent school. But I am psyched and I'm excited to enter a world of community support where we will enable our local farmers rather than our corporations. Maybe, come next winter, you'll be signing up for a CSA too.

Farmers' Market Finds - May 15th

'Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to great places! You're off and away!' Currently, my daughter is obsessed with Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. I read that dang thing cover to cover at least 4 times a day. Some times, once I'm finished, she'll just look up at me and say 'mah!' which means 'more!' in baby language.

This morning, however, had a very Dr. Seussian feel to it: a balmy wind was blowing, the sun was out and then back in the clouds and out again. I had a feeling, as I buckled baby girl into her stroller and set off for the farmers' market, that we were bound to find great things today. And we did. Today was the first day since last fall that the market seemed alive with produce rather than filled with jars of honey and applesauce. While I love preserves of all kinds, I need some fresh veggies in my life.

Along with the asparagus and spinach I've previously written about, baby girl and I found the most beautiful chives with their flowers still attached. Seriously, they're in a vase right now begging for me to keep staring at at them and fantasizing over all the things I'm going to do to them in the kitchen this weekend. We also got some lovely scallions and a pound of just-cut-this-morning baby lettuces. They are so delicate and soft - the more handfuls I took, the more I wanted to keep taking. They felt that good. My farmer friends from Bradley Farm in New Paltz, New York suggested I sprinkle the chive flowers over a nice salad - I think I'll do just that.

Easy, Breezy, Beautiful...

My husband leads the life of a lawyer who works and works and then works some more. Not surprisingly, he rarely makes it home for dinner. I used to go out with friends or order delivery, saving my cooking adventures for the weekend when I'd have someone beside myself to cook for. But everything changed last summer when my daughter started eating solid foods. I became a practical cook rather than just a fun times cook – you know, the girl you marry versus, well...

Due to my harried writing schedule, I’m not around to feed my baby girl dinner or lunch several times a week, but I am still dedicated to providing local, sustainable and unprocessed foods at each and every meal. How do I do it? Our nanny is a gourmet chef. Nope, but she is truly amazing with our daughter. Every Sunday, I cook a big meal with enough leftovers to last us a few days and supplement them with fresh fruits and veggies. By Wednesday evening, I turn to the goodies stored in the freezer like homemade bean and ham soup, pot roast, turkey meatballs and Lebanese Kibbe (don’t worry, I’ll post each and every one of these recipes in the future). Before I know it, it’s Friday when my husband returns home to join us for a nice dinner of something original and fun to cleanse the palate of the week’s leftovers (a word on the much derided left over meal – if you make delicious food, you will have delicious leftovers).

One night, when my daughter was almost nine months old, my husband fed her strained peaches or some such puree while I served up a dish of sauteed spinach and chicken sausage over farro pasta. Once baby girl saw our food was different from hers, she started reaching and screeching for a taste. Well, we hadn’t really moved beyond pureed veggies and fruits, but we indulged her and she loved it. She ended up eating nearly everything on my plate. With its salty anchovies, savory sausage, sweet raisins and earthy spinach, this dish is killer for adults and apparently for babies too. After that night, I stopped with the homemade specialty purees and, to this day, she eats what we eat.


Spinach with Sauteed Chicken Sausage and Farro Noodles

I originally found this recipe in Body+Soul magazine, but I’ve adapted it so many times, consider what you see as based on the original. It is one of my go-to Sunday meals because it’s so tasty, so simple to make, so easy on the wallet, so healthy and it always yields a few nights of leftovers. To make this dish even tastier, buy some fresh spinach from the farmers’ market – in season right now!


Bring a pot of water to a boil and add two cups of farro pasta. If you can’t find farro, any kind of delicate egg noodle or even pasta shells will work nicely.

For the main event, heat a large pan over medium heat and add a healthy splash of olive oil. Throw in 4-5 pressed garlic cloves and a strong squeeze of anchovy paste (or about 5 anchovy fillets). Mix it together and cook until garlic is translucent. Before the garlic goes all brown and crusty, add a pound of uncooked chicken-apple sausages with the casings removed; break it up, mixing it well with the anchovy-garlic mixture.


When the sausage is cooked through and broken up into smaller chunks, squeeze half a lemon and then toss in about a cup of raisins. Cook for a minute or two until the raisins plump up and add two pounds of spinach. (If you took my advice and bought fresh spinach, wash it well and then trim of the stems. Don’t cut or break up the leaves – just toss them in whole and you will have glorious splashes of vibrant green throughout the entire dish.) Add the spinach in batches and carefully mix it throughout with tongs to help it cook evenly. Once the spinach is cooked down and wilted, but still green, add another squeeze of lemon and turn off the heat.

To serve, strain the noodles and spread on a platter, top them with the spinach and chicken sausage saute. I like to mix it all around and eat it with a spoon; baby girl like to eat the sausage, then the noodles and finally the spinach. My husband? Well he's just normal and eats it properly with a fork off a plate. Enjoy!


Approximate Dinner Cost
• W/Wine - $25.75
• W/o Wine - $13.75
• Leftovers – At 8 servings, that’s a mere $1.72 per meal!

Farmers' Market Finds

Just returned from the 97th street farmers' market and scored some beautiful spinach! While the pickings are still mainly potatoes and onions, spinach season is here on the East coast and what a relief. Over the winter months, much of the spinach I buy, while organic, comes from California. Sadly, it's probably been frozen and sapped of its nutrients. Fresh-picked, local spinach is loaded with vitamins K and A, manganese and folate; it's is one of the world's healthiest foods! Check out more on spinach at The World's Healthiest Foods, one of my favorite resources.

Other delicious gets from today's trip were a raw milk Gouda for grilled cheese and fresh pasture-raised eggs. Oh what a Mother's Day brunch we'll have. Hope all you mom's out there have a fabulous Sunday!

Was Blind, But Now...

Every day last week, every time I opened my fridge, there they were, two and a half pounds of once fresh and beautiful spring asparagus deteriorating before my very eyes. Whether I was reaching for milk or for other, less qualified vegetables, I always threw a guilty glance at the long green stems as they stood up, erect and proud, in the shallow dish of water I had so conscientiously placed them in.

I'd had the best intentions. Really, I had. The Sunday I bought them I was hosting a small dinner party; the menu included spring lamb shoulder, homemade olive tapenade, lentils and asparagus. They were to be steamed and served with a lovely red wine and shallot vinaigrette. It was going to be grand...

But then I got it into my head to make a Greek salad and I thought I could do both. I was convinced, but alas, I couldn't and the asparagus suffered. So, here I was this past Saturday afternoon wondering what to do with this sorry lot of greenery. I was about to throw them all away when my husband suggested I make a soup. I argued with him as I usually do when he makes a suggestion, especially a good one. I shooed him and our baby girl out the door to the playground so I could make dinner and then I got to thinking, 'hmmm, maybe he's onto something.'

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of chatting with Nach Waxman, owner of Kitchen Arts and Letters on the Upper East Side. It's a fabulous store dedicated to books on food and cooking. He said the difference between Europeans and Americans is the Euros think to themselves, what do I have to coook with tonight whereas we think what do I want to make for dinner. Aha! I realize now my Massachussetts-raised hubby is more Euro than me, American mutt that I am. Not only that, but he's definitely more Eco and budget conscious and way more Alice Waters worthy. Who in their right mind would've thought to waste the first bounty of spring after such a cold winter?

Asparagus Soup

Nach Waxman also said that a good cook never follows a recipe to a T. She flips through a few books, gets an idea, puts the books back on the shelf and starts cooking. Well, that's exactly what I did. I got the gist for what goes into a tasty asparagus soup and then found my own path of righteousness.

***
Preheat the oven to 400, then grab, say, 2.5 lbs. of asparagus, 4-5 large shallots, 3 garlic cloves, a few sprigs of thyme, some salt, some pepper and a bottle of olive oil.


Wash the asparagus and snap off the dry ends by holding a stalk of asparagus at each end and bending - AW says it will break at the perfect spot. Slice up the shallots and press the garlic. Throw them into a roasting pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and splash a healthy dose of olive oil over the whole thing. Toss it all together - make sure everything is nicely coated with oil - and pop in the oven for about 15 minutes.


Once the asparagus are nicely roasted, cut them in half and throw the entire mixture into a food processor. Add a good amount of chicken stock to the processor and pulse until it's nicely pureed. Move it all to a pot, turn on the heat and add a bit more stock for texture, a squeeze of fresh lemon and some salt and pepper if you need it.


To serve, ladle a helping into a soup bowl, then sprinkle a bit of Parmesan cheese and add a few strands of fresh lemon zest. My baby girl was lapping it up like it was ice cream. Enjoy!

Approximate Dinner Cost
• Well, this wasn't exactly a meal, but we ate it for lunch with grilled cheese for four days straight so eight bowls of soup came to about $2.25 per bowl. Not bad considering the asparagus soup at our local gourmet grocer is $8 for 2 servings.

*Author's Request - I just have to ask for a pat on the back for finally figuring out how to take a decent picture with my Sony Cybershot. However, I'm still trying to master getting one of my motion-filled 17 month old!

Kitchy Quiche

These days nearly everyone I know is on some kind of budget. Some are unspoken, quietly saying, "I'm good," when asked if they want the usual at Starbucks. Others are much more forthright, making bold statements like, "I'm never going to brunch again." Heck, going on a budget is the thing to do. Before writing to you all, I went through my credit card bill itemizing and then micro-itemizing every single purchase into ultra specific categories. I realized that my down-fall is baked goods so I've decided not to buy another cookie, cake or quiche ever again! Well, let's just settle on seldom.

Speaking of quiche, last weekend I had a little budget anxiety over hosting our friends and their 2 year old baby boy. Usually, I go hog wild, stocking up on expensive cheeses and imported olives; making so many hors d'oevres no one's hungry when the real meal is ready. So, at the behest of my husband and my wallet, I decided to make a quiche. Alice Waters, in The Art of Simple Food dedicates an entire chapter to eggs, quiche being perhaps one of the tastiest things you can do with an egg.

For the health, eco and budget conscious, pasture-raised eggs are probably the best thing you can do for yourself. While regular old cage-raised eggs are decent, pasture-raised eggs are better. According to the Sustainabletable.org, they have 10% less fat and 400% more omega 3s and 40% more vitamin A than their corporate counterparts. Seriously, pasture fed eggs rule and have become a major staple in our kitchen.


Bacon, Cheese, Mushroom & Tomato Quiche

Too many quiches taste more like a fritatta in a crust. In search of a creamy, balanced quiche, I turned to Thomas Keller for his ridiculously easy crust - aka, you can use a mixer! And, for the filling, I turned to the best American master of French cooking, Ms. Julia Child herself. The quiche was a hit for even the most discerning two year old taste buds.

Crust:
Add two cups of flour (I use white whole wheat) and one teaspoon of salt to the mixer. Mix for a second or two. Then turn the mixer to medium and slowly add 2 sticks of chilled unsalted butter that has been sliced into tablespoon sized pieces. Mix until everything is combined. Then add a 1/4 cup of ice water and mix that until combined. Turn out the dough onto a piece of saran wrap, flatten into a disk, wrap it tightly and store in the fridge for a few hours. Then preheat the oven to 375, roll out your dough and fit it into a pie pan, poke a lot of holes in the bottom and cook until brown and golden, about 40 minutes.

Quiche:
Get a liquid measuring cup and for every egg, pour enough milk in to reach the 1/2 cup mark. So, for 2 eggs, crack them into the cup and then pour in the milk until it reaches 1 cup. I used about 6 eggs so that was about 3 cups. Add salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of nutmeg if that sounds tasty to you.

You can fill your quiche with anything under the sun. I chose to caramelize some sweet onions, broil some pasture-fed bacon, cook some cherry tomatoes and mushrooms, and add some sharp farmers' market cheese that I can't remember the name of. When you go to fill the pie crust just don't go too overboard with the accessories because you might miss out on the custard consistency. I try not to let the accessories make it more than 1/3 to 1/2 of they way up the sides. Sprinkle the cheese and other things all over the bottom of the crust and then pour in the egg and milk mixture. Bake at 375 for about 35 minutes until the top is puffed and brown and the quiche is just set.

The result will be a custardy masterpiece of subtle flavor and smooth texture. And remember, since the egg and milk base is relatively inexpensive, you can go all out on the accessories since you really won’t need more than a handful of lovely mushrooms or fresh crab or whatever you decide to add. Enjoy!

Approximate Dinner Cost
• W/Wine - $29
• W/o Wine - $17
• Leftovers – Zip, but there were six servings so that is $2.83 per person!

Simply Sausage

I can barely remember it now, but I was once a Citigroupian. Every day I would take the E train out of Manhattan and into Long Island City where the Citigroup building rose, a single skyscraper all by itself, over the blocks of town houses and pockets of factories. There wasn't much in LIC in the way of food then, but every morning my friend, J, and I would go down to the deli for a bagel and chat with our deli friend whom we called the Swede.

One day I had a hankering for sausage and so I asked the deli manager, "How's your sausage?" Flustered, he looked down at his pants and then up at J and me and just stuttered and blushed. I, of course, didn't have a clue what his problem was, so I turned to the Swede who was busting his gut as hard as J was and asked if they had any sausage. After that, I finally caught on. I promptly exited the premises and went to the cafeteria.

Well, today I want to tell you about Farmers' Market sausage where when you say those three words, the men don't blush, stutter and look at their pants. They reply, "It's amazing." This past Friday, I pushed my baby girl down to our local market on West 97th street and bought some seriously fabulous pasture raised and farmer made sweet Italian pork sausage. I was tired and didn't feel like fixing a complicated feast so instead I fixed a simple one of grilled sausages with local Rao's marinara sauce and some Jerusalem artichoke spaghetti. Yum yum is all I can say.

Approximate Dinner Cost
• W/Wine - $25
• W/o Wine - $15
• Leftovers - Zip
• Breakdown - Sausage $11, Sauce $3, Pasta $1 and Wine $10

Farmers' Fish?

My husband and I lived in Park Slope, Brooklyn for three years and frequented the farmer's market at Grand Army Plaza, which, in my humble opinion, is second only to the mighty Union Square market. Every Saturday, we noticed a line at this one particular stand and, no matter how early we roused ourselves, the goodies were always gone before we got there.

What was sold at this mystical place? Fish! Fish at a farmers' market? Ew gross! you might say and we did too until it dawned on us that NYC is actually an island within spitting distance of the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound. This stand would bring in fresh seafood that really truly still smelled like it's old home, the ocean.

Due to extreme laziness - that must've been the cause - we never did get to sample the offerings of the fish stand at Grand Army Plaza. However, we just happened to hit the Union Square market early enough this week and scored big time. Little babies who wake up at 7am every morning will do wonders for getting you killer fish - er, shellfish as is the case this week.

We bought 2 pounds of sea scallops that were so fresh and perfect, they basically talked to me. Wondering what on earth to do with them, I copied our good friends who cook outrageous Risotto Milanese with scallops and a balsamic vinegar reduction. It's so simple and light and the pleasing touch of saffron accentuates the scallops' sweetness and saltwater freshness. Even my daughter was gobbling scallops and risotto with her little spoon. Served with a salad of fresh market greens lightly dressed with lemon and olive oil, the entire perfect meal only took 30 minutes to put together. Give it a go!


Risotto Milanese with Scallops and Balsamic Vinegar

Bring to a boil and then simmer about 5 cups of chicken broth (homemade if you can manage it, but I use organic all the time!) in a small pot. Pat the scallops dry and set them aside. Chop up a medium onion and add it to a large hot pot sprinkled with a bit of olive oil. After about 5 minutes, once the onion has softened, measure out 10 ounces of arborio rice and pour into the pan mixing it into the onion. Add a pinch of crumbled up saffron to half a cup of wine and pour over rice and onion mixture. Keep stirring and stirring – the key to a good risotto is the stirring. Once the wine is absorbed, add a ladle-full of chicken broth. Stir until it’s absorbed and keep adding ladle-full after ladle-full until the risotto is soft, but al dente. Turn off the heat and add a pat or so of butter and half a cup of Parmesan cheese.

With your other hand – keep stirring! – add about a cup or so of balsamic vinegar and a teaspoonful or so of sugar to a small pot. Stir and bring it to a boil and then simmer until it reduces down to a thick syrupy texture.

When your risotto starts coming together, sprinkle some salt and pepper on the scallops. Throw them into a hot pan and sear on both sides until they are a nice golden brown.

To serve, spoon some risotto into bowls, pop a few scallops on top and drizzle with a bit of the reduced balsamic. Enjoy!

Approximate Dinner Cost
• W/Wine - $39
• W/o Wine - $24
• Leftovers - 3 nights of rice with chicken thighs and salad came to $6 per meal for us three
• Breakdown - Scallops $13, Saffron $3, Arborio Rice $3, Butter $.50, Chicken Broth $3, Parmesan Cheese $.50, Salad $2 and Wine $15

*Author’s Note – If you or someone you’re cooking for has a dairy allergy as my daughter does, just pull out a serving of risotto before adding the butter and cheese. It’s super creamy and tasty even without the dairy.

Here Chicky Chick Chick

Thank God Manhattan is only 13 miles long because it takes forever to get anywhere. Sure, some argue otherwise, but they, like myself, have been sucked into the vortex of blocks and neighborhoods rather than miles.

I live say 85 blocks, about 4 miles, from the Union Square Farmers' Market. In suburban time, only a 5 minute drive, but in Manhattan time, it's a 30 minute train ride and then a 15 minute walk. With a baby stroller, add a back-straining 10 minutes for hauling the stroller up and down subway stairs while smiling adoringly at any person who looks like they can walk and therefore help with the stroller.

Don't get me wrong, I love New York and I love that I actually experience the weather and walk on streets and in parks rather than overheated malls, but occasionally, when it’s cold and rainy and I just don’t have time, I am eager for a driveway outside my house containing an awaiting car where I plop baby-girl into her carseat and drive off into the sunset.

This weekend, after the above journey, my husband, baby girl and I arrived at the farmers’ market to find a stand filled with pheasant sausages, chickens, ducks, eggs, smoked chickens and on and on. I was in love. After chatting with the farmer about how he treats his animals, he found the biggest chicky for me, which weighed in at 4.5 lbs and then he said, "$21." While the chickens at Whole Food are generally $8 or so cheaper, look at the title, I am emulating Alice right? Sure, I am, but my hubby, not so much.

“No thanks,” he said and rolled our daughter away. Since he had the cash and the baby, I had to follow. However, after about five minutes of heartfelt sulking and explaining it's less money than one entree at a nice restaurant, he gave in and I got my beauty-full chicky with her little neck and organs tucked inside.

Usually, when I roast a chicken, I stuff it with herbs and lemon or roast loads of root veggies alongside it. But this time, chicky was too stunning to mess with so I left her all alone covered in soft butter, salt and pepper. Alice does say, with the freshest ingredients, do very little. I cooked it at 400 degrees for an hour and a half, basting whenever I remembered and what came out was the most beautiful golden bird I'd ever seen.

After I put the chicken in the oven I decided the gizzards and neck couldn’t be wasted so I simmered them uncovered in a little pot of half water, half white wine, a clove of garlic, some peppercorns and a bay leaf. Mixed with the drippings from the chicken and a little white whole wheat flour and salt, it was the best gravy ever. Some buttered peas, organic, but frozen and brown rice cooked in chicken broth and my husband and baby girl were thrilled. Did I mentioned the local Finger Lakes Pinot Gris? Delish!

Approximate Dinner Cost
• W/Wine - $38.50
• W/o Wine - $23.50
• Leftovers - 4 nights at $9.63 per meal including vino - not bad!
• Breakdown - Chicken $21, Peas $1, Rice $.50, Butter $1 and Wine $15

*Writer's Apology - Of course, I was so into my cooking and racing against time before my husband and baby girl returned from the playground that I didn't take a picture. Sorry! New to this blogging thing. I myself can't stand pictureless cookbooks unless it's a book by Alice of course.